Sony expected to cut smartphone sales forecasts again

Sony is set to cut its smartphone sales forecast again, according to reports.

The Wall Street Journal indicates that the Japanese firm is about to reduce its sales target by several million units, down from the current prediction of 43 million for the 12 months to the end of March 2015.

The firms has already revised its predictions downwards previously this business year, with the original goal set at an ambitious 50 million units. Back in September, chief executive Kazuo Hirai also confirmed that the company would be cutting 1,000 employees, or 15 per cent of the global smartphone business workforce, by March.

Sony has blamed the failure to match its predictions on poor sales of mid-to-low end devices, causing the firm to announce it will be shifting its focus onto more premium handsets in the future.

The company is expected to reduce its presence in emerging markets, particularly in China, where it has struggled to pique interest in its entry-level devices. Sony has also experienced lower-than-expected sales across its TV and Vaio laptop ranges recently.

However, Sony is expected to continue its support for its high-end Xperia Z3 phone, although the firm is rumoured to be scaling back its release cycle from six months to a year.

Rumours have also suggested that development of the Xperia Z4 is well underway, with the handset's spec sheet already leaked online.